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KOIN Tower Lobby

KOIN Tower is a downtown Portland landmark, and a striking part of the city’s skyline. Its interior, however, reflected a different era. When the building was sold, the new owners decided that it needed to be repositioned to provide what tenants are looking for in a modern Class A office environment.

Mackenzie worked hand-in-hand with the brand strategists at Think Joule, and the building’s brand was comprehensively rethought. The renovation, as the physical illustration of this rethinking, thoroughly embraces modern Portland and refreshes what has long been an iconic downtown building.

The lobby, as the main point of arrival for the building, needed to express the owner’s new vision of the property and build a new sense of place. A large interactive wall, featuring custom content and social media, is a focal point of the room and an engaging piece of community-building technology. The brand motif was woven into the design, and can be seen in the pattern of the decorative screen over the lobby’s main seating area and the new elevator door skins.

The space is a foundation for a vibrant community—a “third place” for the people working in KOIN Tower, a space separate but complementary to the workplace. Ristretto Roasters’ café, also designed by Mackenzie, fits seamlessly in to the larger space, is an amenity for tenants and people passing by on the street. The café buildout maintains Ristretto’s distinctive identity while embracing the KOIN Tower aesthetic, and this cohesion in brand and sensibility underlines the building’s new sense of place.